#£8d 


.....oiouy    Lioranes 

Whither  bound? 
Conf  Pam  l2mo  #589 

DcH01r2fl770 


No.  72. 


WHITHER  BOUND  ? 


in    THE  CHAPLAIN  IOtH    VIRCilMA  CAVALRY, 


Audison,  in  his  "  Vision  of  Miraa,"  thought  he  6aw 
a  bridge  standing  in  the  midst  of  the  tide.  "  The  bridge 
thou  seest,"  said  the  genius,  li  is  human  life  ;  consider 
it  attentively."  "  Upon  a  more  leisurely  survey  of  it,  I 
found  that  it  consisted  of  three  score  and  ten  entire 
arches,  with  several  broken  arches,  which,  added  to 
those  that  were  entire,  made  up  the  number  about  an 
hundred.  As  I  was  counting  the  arches,  the  genius 
told  me  that  this  bridge  consisted  at  first  of  a  thousand 
arches,  but  that  a  great  flood  swept  away  the  rest,  and 
left  the  bridge  in  the  ruinous  condition  I  now  beheld  it : 
'  but  tell  me  further/  said  he,  *  what  thou  discoverest 
ob  it,'  'I  see  multitudes  of  people  passing  over  it,' 
said  T,  'and  a  black  cWd  hanging  on  cacli  end  of  it.' 
As  I  looked  more  attentively,  I  saw  several  of  the  pas- 
sengers dropping  through  the  bridge  into  the  great  tide 
that  flowed  underneath  it :  and  upon  further  examina- 
tion, perceived  that  there  were  innumerable  trap-doors 
that  lay  concealed  in  the  bridge,  which  the  passengers 
no  sooner  trod  upon,  but  they  fell  through  them  into  the 
tide,  and  immediately  disappeared." 


Let  us,  with  our  mind's  eye,  look  at  the  great  anwds 
of  earth  on  their  life  journey.     See  them, 

"  Pale,  trembling  age, 
"  And  fiery  youth, 
"  And  childhood  'with  its  brow  of  truth," 

as  they  press  along  the  bridge  of  life  !     Ever  and  anon 
some  of  them  drop  through  and  disappear  forever. 

Reader,  you  and  I  walk  that  bridge,  and  in  our  turn 
will  be  missing  from  the  throng.  On  leaving  the  bridge, 
what  becomes  of  us  ?  What  is  our  destination  ?  There 
are  four  places  of  which  I  would  speak  in  this  little 
tract.  To  two  of  these,  you,  I,  all  who  have  ever  lived, 
and  who  shall  hereafter  live,  must  go.  To  one  or  the 
other  of  the  other  two,  all  are  destined. 

1.  The  first  is  the  Grave.  "  Dust  thou  art,  and  unto 
dust  shalt  thou  return."  "  I  know,"  says  Job>  "  that 
thou  wilt' bring  me  to  death,  and  to  the  house  appointed 
for  all  the  living."  "  It  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to 
die."  Such  is  the  testimony  of  the  word  of  God.  Even 
did  that  not  speak,  Reason  teaches  that  man  is  a  sure 
and  certain  heir  to  mortality  and  the  tomb.  Our  bodies 
are  not  made  of  iron  or  steel,  and » cannot  withstand  the 
wear  and  tear  of  ages.  Every  pain,  every  throb  of  the 
heart,  each  beating  pulse,  whispers  in  the  ear  of  man, 
"  this  is  not  your  rest."  We  look  back  on  the.  past 
generations  of  our  species,  and  find  that  all  have  passed 
away.  Every  being  since  our 'first  parents,  has  died. 
"  Our  fathers,  where  are  they  V     Alas  ! 

"  The  earth  rings  hollow  from  below, 
"  And  warns  us  ,of  her  dead." 


In  every  step,  we  tread  upon  the  dust  of  those  who  wore 
once  living,  sentient  beings.  -Methusaleh  could  not  out- 
live death  ;  Sampson  could  not  contend  with  it ;  Solo- 
mon's wisdom  could  not  devise  a  way  of  escape ;  piety 
and  godliness  have  not  availed,  or  patriarchs,  apostles, 
and  good  men  of  all  ages,  had  still  lived. 

Some  go  to  this  place,  (the  Grave,,)  with  calmness  and 
peace,  and  some  with  horror.  To  some,  death*  is  a  mes- 
senger of  terror ;  to  others,  a  smiling  friend.  A  mem- 
ber of  my  Regiment  was  called,  a  few  weeks  since,  to 
die.  His  end  was  so  calm,  that,  a  survivor  writes,  "For 
a  while  I  could  not  tell  that  he  had  passed  from  earth." 
Said  an  attending  physician.  "  I  would  rather  die  that 
death  than  live  a  moment  longer." 

2.  But  there  is  another  place  to  which,  from  the 
grave,  all  must  go :  It  is,  the  Judgment  Bar  of  God. 
"  It  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  and  after  this, 
the  judgment."  "We  must  all  appear  before  the  judg- 
ment seat  of  Christ."  "Every  one  of  us  shall  give  an 
account  of  himself  to  God."  "  I  saw,"  says  John,  "the 
dead,  small  and  great,  stand  before  God  ;  and  the  books 
were  opened."  The  Judge  himself  tells  us,  'Khat  be- 
fore him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations."  Solemn,  tre- 
mendous day  !  0,  reader,  though  it  seems  something 
away  off  .in  the  dim,  distant  future  which  you  cannot 
realize,  its  certainty  is  based  on  the  word  of  God  him- 
self. You  and  I  must  appear  at  the  Judgment  Seat,  to 
give  account  for  talents,  mercies,  blessings,  judgments 
— for  this  little  tract.     How  different  will  be  that  day 


to  different  persons.     To  some,  a  day  of  wrath  ;  to  oth- 
ers, a  day  of  blessedness  and  triumph,  for 

"  A  mighty  change  awaits  us  when  the  hour 
Arrives,  that  lands  us  on  the  eternal  s*hore. 
From  glory  then  to  glory  we  shall  rise, 
Or  sink  from  deep  to  deeper  miseries — 
Ascend  perfection's  everlasting  scale, 
Or  still  descend  from  gulf  to  gulf  in  hell." 

Hitherto  the  crowds  have,  without  exception,  gone  to 
the  Grave  and  t">  the  Judgment  Seat,  but  at  this  last, 
the  Judge  shall  say  to  some,  "Come,  ye  blessed  ;"  to  oth- 
ers, "  Depart,  ye  cursed."  "  He  will  separate  them  one 
from  another  as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from  the 
goats  ;  and  he  shall  set  the  sheep  on  his  right  hand,  and 
the  goats  on  the  Left— and  these  shall  go  away  into  ever- 
lasting punishment,  but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal." 

There  remain,  then,  two  other  places,*  to  one  or  the 
other  of  which  all  must  go. 

Hell..  "  The  wicked  shall  be  turned  into  hell,  with 
ail  the  nations  that  forget  God."  " 

"Of  what  elements  future  misery  will  consist,  we 
•'  cannot  tell ;  but  it  will  include  poignant  remorse,  and 
"  a  sense  of  divine  wrath,  with  the  absence  of  all  enjoy  - 
44  ment  and  all  hope.  It  will  produce,  in  the  subjects 
"  of  it,  weeping,  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  They 
"  will  realize  that  they  are  shut  out  forever  from  the 
"  kingdom  of  heaven,  into  outer  darkness  ;  and  they 


*That  Hall  and  Heaven  are  places,  and  not  mere 
states  of  being,  see,  Acts  i :  25  :  Luke  xvi :  28 ;  John 
si?:  % 


\  will  remember  the  good  things  which  they  once  en- 
' joyed,  never  more  to  be  enjoyed  again ;  and  the  op- 
'  portunities  of  mercy,  once  neglected,  never  more  to 

•  return.  They  will  be  tormented  in  the  flame,  without 
'  a  drop  of  water  to  cool  their  tongues.  Their  hatred 
'  of  God  will  be  complete,  and  they  will  blaspheme  his 
;  name,  v>  hile  they  feel  themselves  grasped  in  the  hands 
'  of  his  almighty  wrath,  without  power  to  extricate 
'  themsejvos.  Devils,  and  wicked  men,  all  under  the 
'.  same  condemnation,  will  be  their  eternal  companions ; 
'and  the  companionship,  instead  of  affording  relief, 
'  will  be  an  aggravation  of  their,  woe.  The  whole 
'  throng,  hateful,  and  hating  one  another,  will  be  tor- 
1  mentors  of  one  another.  The  malignant  passions 
'  which  on  earth  caused  wars,  assassinations,  cruelty, 
'  oppression,  and  every  species  of  injury,  will  be  let 
1  loose,  without  restraint,  to  banish  peace  and  brother- 
'  hood  forever  from  the  infernal  society  ;  and  the  paa- 
'  sions  which  burn  in  the  hearts  of  wicked  men  on  earth, 
4  and  destroy  all  internal  peace,  and  sometimes  drive  to 
'  suicide,  will  then  be  unrestrained,  and  do  their  full 
'  work  of  torture  ;  and  relief  by  suicide,  or  self-annihi- 
'lation,  will  be  forever  impossible.  0,  who  can  endure 
'  such  torments  ?  Who  will  not,  with  every  energy, 
'  and  at  every  sacrifice,  seek  to  escape  from  devouring 

•  fire  and  everlasting  burnings  V 

This  is  a  painful  subject.  Men  dislike  to  hear  of  it. 
They  think  it  unkind,  and  in  wretehed  taste,  that  min- 
isters should  allude  to  it ;  and  yet,  my  friend,  the  most 
loving  teing  that  ever  walked  this  earth  spake  of  it. 


He  whose  great  heart  went  out  to  a  lost  world — who 
healed  all  manner  of  diseases — who   "had  compassion 
on  the  multitudes" — who  wept  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus,  . 
and  over  the  doomed  City,  warned  men  of  this  world  of 
ruin  in  no  ambiguous  terms. 

Would  that  this  tract  might  make  you  so  uncomferta- 
ble  and  wretched  that  you  would  never  rest  till  }rou  founa 
peace  in  believing.  If  you  persist  in  sin,  Hell  must  be 
your  portion.  That  Saviour  who  "died  to  save  you  Jrom 
it,  will,  as  your  judge,  send  you  there.  How  fearful, 
should  you  meet  such  a  doom —the  possibility! — the 
probability  1 ! 

I  pass  on  with  pleasure  to  speak  of  the  other  place. 

Heaven.  Who  of  the  crowds  go  to  this?  All  the 
holy.  These  will  go  away  "into  life  eternal.7/  The 
blessed  Saviour  said,  "I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you." 

.  "Eye  hath  not  seen  it ! 

Bar  hath  not  heard  its  deep  songs  of  joy ; 
Dreams  cannot  picture'  a  world  so  fair ; 
'  Sorrow  and  death  may  not  enter  there  ; 

Time  doth  not  breathe  on  its  fadeless  bloom, 
For  beyond  the  clouds  and  beyond  the  tomb, 
It  is  there,  it  is  there." 

There,  entereth  not  a  sin.  There,  will  be  assembled 
those  who  have  feared  God  in  all  ages.  Out  of  every 
period  of  time,  and  out  of  every  kindred,  and  nation, 
and  people,  and  tongue,  will  be  gathered  into  one  great 
multitude  all  the  children  of  God — the  holy  prophets, 
.  apostles,  the  noble  army  of  martyrs — but  the  main  at- 
traction will  be  Jesus. 


I  have  now  spoken  of  the  four  places  to  whieh  allu- 
sion was  made  in  the  beginning  of  this  tract.  To  two 
of  these,  on  falling  from  the  bridge  of  lire,  all  must  go : 
the  Grave  and  the  Judgment  Bar  of  God.  Soon  you 
must  die,  and  "after  death,  the  judgment. ,;  Then  your 
destiny  for  eternity  will  be  decided.  Shall  itbeHerfven 
or  Hell  ?  The  decision  rests  with  you.  Seek  the  Sa- 
viour— obtain  an  interest  in  the  atoning  blood  of  Christ, 
through  whom,  and  through  whom  alone,  you  can  enter 
"  through  the  gates  into  the  city."  You  will  thus  be 
safe,  for  time  and  eternity,  whether  death  come  soon  or 
late.  Then  it  shall  little  matter  whether  you  die  in 
your  quiet  chamber,  with  loved  ones  near  to  cool  your 
fevered  brow  antl  speak  words  of  sympathy  and  love, 
or  whether  on  the  bloody  battle-field,  amid  the  smoke 
and  thunder  of  battle,  you  are  called  away.  Death 
will  be  not  a  rcmoreless  enemy,  .but  a  smiling  friend — 
not  a  destroyer,  but  a  servant  of  God,  to  bid  you  wel- 
come to  our  Father's  House  ;  tho  everlasting  andjoyou.> 
home,  where  we  shall  be  "forever  with  the  Lord." 


LIFE  AND  DEATH  ETERNAL, 

Oh  !  where  shall  rest  be  found  ? 
Rest  for  the  weary  soul ; 
'Twere  vain  the  ocean  depths  to  sound, 
Or  pierce  to  either  pole. 

This  world  can  never  give 
The  bliss  for  which  we  sigh  ; 
JTis  not  the  whole  of  life  to  live, 
Nor  all  of  death  to  die. 

Beyond  this  vale  of  tears,* 
There  is  a  life  above  ; 
Unmeasured  by  the  flight  of  years, 
And  all  that  life  is  love. 

There  is  a  .death  whose  pang 
Outlasts  the  fleeting  breath  ^ 
Oh  !  what  eternal  horrors  hang 
Around  the  second  death. 

Lord,  God  of  truth  and  grace, 
Teach  us  that  death  to  shun; 
Lest  we  be  banished  from  thy  face 
And  evermore  undone. 


Hollinger  Corp. 
PH8.5 


